Western Expansion 1870-1900

1
Western Expansion 1870-1900
2
Moving West and the Closing of the Frontier.

• Why did they want to come west?
• Lands for settlement
• Money from precious metals
• Changes in farming, ranching and mining
• Advances in communication to the west

3
Reason 1 Western Land for Settlement

• Morill land grant act (1862).
• Federal government gives state governments
  millions of acres of land to sell.
• With proceeds of the sale the states establish
  the land grant universities.

OSU
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Railroad Land Grant

• During the construction of western railroads the
  government gave railroad companies construction
  loans land grants.
• To pay the loans many railroad companies offered
  settlers land at great bargains.

11
Better Sooner Than Later. The Oklahoma Land Grab

• A government-sponsored race on April 22, 1889, in
  which some 50,000 home seekers rode or ran to
  claim land in what is now Oklahoma.

12
Homestead Act

• Signed by president Lincoln the act
• Offered 160 acres of land to anyone who
• Was at least 21yrs old or the head of the family.
• Was an American citizen.
• Had the 10 registration fee.
• Settlers had to build a home and live on the
  claim for at least 6 months a year.
• Settlers had to farm the land actively for 5
  consecutive years before they got ownership.

13
Holy Cow! We Got Us Some Settlers.

• By 1900 600,000 families filed claims settling
  over 80 million acres of land.

But not without some issues
14
Like

• Many couldnt meet the laws requirements.
• Many who moved from the cities had no farming
  experience.
• Many were unable to last the 5 yrs.
• Many were unable to economically survive.

And as with the times fraud was always a problem.
15
Land Grant Fraud

• Many land speculators wheeled cabins for plot to
  plot filing claims for the land.
• Of the 500million acres of land dispersed between
  1862-1904, only 80 million went to homesteaders.
• Most land went to speculator, cattlemen, and
  railroads.

16
Reason 2 There's Gold in Them There Hills

• Gold and silver rushes 1855-1875

17
Sutters Mill
In January 1848, a carpenter by the name of James
Marshall was fixing a watermill belonging to John
Sutter of Sutter's Fort, near the small town of
San Francisco in California. He saw something
shining in the stream - it was GOLD!
James Marshall
18
News Spreads People Head West

• News of this discovery spread like wildfire and
  was another big 'PULL' for people to head west.
• By the end of the year there were over 10,000 men
  digging for gold.

San Francisco went from a sleepy village to a
major city-port, rivalling New York.
19
Colorado Gold RushPikes Peak

• Many 49ers passed over more lucrative gold
  fields while on route to Sutters mill. By 1859
  rumors of gold everywhere you stick your shovel
  at pikes peak brought a stampede of pikes peak
  or bust wagons.

20
Attracting Forces

• Reason 1 Western Land for Settlement
• Morill land grant act (1862).
• Railroad Land Grant
• Oklahoma Land Grab
• Homestead Act
• Reason 2 There's Gold in Them There Hills

21
Nevada
Mining becomes big business in Nevada at the
Comstock load.
22
Arizona
23
Idaho
24
Montana
25
Wyoming
26
(No Transcript)